Butterfly Pea Flower Rice (Rice Cooker or Stovetop)

2 scoops of blue butterfly pea flower jasmine rice on a white plate with mint garnish

Butterfly Pea Flower Rice (Rice Cooker or Stovetop)

Whether you want to add a pop of color to your plate or just have butterfly pea flowers around, you can easily make this beautifully hued rice, traditional to Southeast Asian cuisines.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Asian, Thai

Diet Gluten Free, Low Fat, Vegan

Keyword Fun dishes, rice cooker

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Servings

Calories 338kcal

Author Agile Test Kitchen

Equipment

1 rice cooker or pot to cook rice

Ingredients

1 c jasmine rice or other white rice of your choice, see Note 1
1 ¼ c water up to 1 ½ c water, see Note 2
½ teaspoon butterfly pea flower powder or ⅛ c dried butterfly pea flowers, see Note 3

Instructions

Wash the rice to remove excess starch. A rule of thumb for washing is to cover the rice with about 2 inches of water, swirl 10 times with your hand, drain and repeat twice more.
Add water to the rice cooker pot or saucepan. Add the pea powder or flowers and stir gently to combine.
Cook in the rice cooker if using. Once it's done, uncover and stir gently to fluff up the rice.
For stovetop directions, add the drained rice and measured water to the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Lower the heat to a bare simmer and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the rice is cooked through. Turn off the heat, cover, and let rest for 5-10 minutes so the rice can absorb any excess steam. Uncover and stir gently to fluff the rice grains.

Notes

The butterfly pea powder works on brown rice too, but the color is best observed on white rice. Adjust the amount of water you use according to the rice you pick. The package should have instructions for the recommended amount of water to use.
Depending when the rice was harvested and how dry it is, the jasmine rice can take up to 1 ½ c of water per cup of rice. Follow the packaged directions for the amount of water to use.
½ teaspoon of butterfly pea powder to 1 cup of rice yields a light blue color. For a deep blue indigo color, use 1 teaspoon of powder. Using dried flowers yields a slightly less uniform color with specks of edible hydrated flowers strewn throughout the rice.
If you already have cooked rice, you can also mix in the powder to the cooked rice. It works best on hot rice so the residual moisture melts the powder into the rice.

Nutrition